Speeches

Mr President, unfortunately, this year too, in the midst of the pandemic, we have experienced images of biblical destruction throughout Europe. The dangerous side effects of the climate crisis and austerity policies can no longer be ignored. It has been shown in practice that the Rescue EU mechanism cannot respond adequately and that it perpetuates shortages between states by recycling shortages of resources. In my home country of Cyprus, which was also affected by deadly fires, there was no rapid response. Unfortunately, European planes arrived when the fires were extinguished. In the face of the dramatic increase in major natural disasters, the European Union must strengthen its policies of solidarity in response to these phenomena. To this end, we would like to stress that we are calling for the creation of a European Air Firefighting Base in Cyprus. The Commission must effectively support those affected and must also ensure adequate conditions for the sustainability of the Solidarity Fund. Commissioner, fires do not just burn forests. The fires threaten to burn the credibility of the European Union's policies.